Lesson video

Hi.

I'm Ms. Minton.

And welcome to this Living the Christian Life lesson on Christian Celebrations: Advent and Christmas.

Now, by the end of this lesson, you'll be able to explain the significance of Advent and Christmas for Christians.

Now, lots of our learning today might be new to you, but please don't worry because I'm here to guide you through each step of the lesson.

And I'm confident that by the end, you'll achieve the outcome.

So let's get started and take a look at our keywords for today.

We have Advent, Christmas, and festival.

Now, Advent is a season that's observed in many Christian churches as a time of expectant waiting and preparation for the celebration of the birth of Jesus.

Christmas is a Christian festival that celebrates the birth of Jesus.

And a festival is a day or period of celebration that's typically done for religious reasons.

Now, our lesson today will have two parts.

We'll start by looking at Advent, and then we'll move on to look at Christmas.

So let's get started and have a look at Advent.

Now, the word festival comes from the Latin word festum, which means holiday or feast.

And a festival is a day or period of celebration, and it's usually done for religious reasons.

Festival are usually happy and joyous occasions, and they usually occur annually, so they usually happen once every year.

Now, many Christian churches follow what's known as the liturgical cycle.

And the liturgical cycle is the church's way of organising the year to remember and celebrate important events and festivals.

The cycle is sectioned into what's known as seasons, and these seasons are represented by different colours.

Some of the liturgical seasons remain at the same time each year, but others, such as Lent and Easter, change.

And that's because Easter is based on the lunar calendar, which means it's based on the cycles of the moon.

So let's check your understanding so far.

True or false, many Christian churches follow the liturgical cycle as a way of organising the year to remember and celebrate important events and festivals.

Fantastic.

That statement is true.

But how do we know that that statement's true? Well, it's because the cycle is sectioned into seasons that are represented by different colours, and these seasons can help Christians know important events that are taking place and when these are celebrated.

So well done for identifying that the statement is true and for identifying the reason why.

Now, Advent and Christmas are important celebrations within Christianity.

And Advent is a four-week season that begins four Sundays before Christmas Day.

For most Christians, Advent is a time of preparation and getting ready for the birth of Jesus on Christmas Day.

Now, the word Advent originates from two Latin words, ad meaning to, and venire meaning come.

And this reflects that Advent is a time of waiting for Jesus' arrival and anticipation of Christmas Day.

So let's check your understanding again.

Which of the following refers to the four-week period of preparation for the birth of Jesus, A, Advent, B, Epiphany, C, Lent, or D, Pentecost? Fantastic.

The correct answer is Advent.

So Advent is the four-week period of preparation for Christmas Day and the birth of Jesus.

Well done.

Now, there are a number of ways that Christians can celebrate Advent, including using Advent wreaths.

Now, an Advent wreath is a circular arrangement of flowers or leaves, and it has candles inside it.

Now, many Christians will light one candle each Sunday leading up to Christmas.

The candle symbolise hope, peace, joy, and love.

And there's usually a white candle in the middle of the wreath that represents Jesus as the light of the world.

And this candle is usually lit on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day.

Now, another way that Christians might celebrate Advent is by giving to charity or completing acts of kindness.

Many Christians see Advent as a time of spiritual preparation for Christmas.

And during Advent, many Christians will give to charity, volunteer, or fundraise as a way of spiritually preparing for the birth of Jesus and Christmas Day.

Now, this might also include acts like volunteering at food banks, for example.

Another way that Christians can celebrate Advent is by attending church services that focus specifically on the coming of Jesus.

During Advent, many churches hold special services that focus on biblical readings about the coming of Christ.

For example, passages from the Book of Isaiah that predict the arrival of Jesus will often be used during the period of Advent.

Now, many Christians believe that the Book of Isaiah actually predicted the birth of Jesus.

So if we look at Isaiah 7:14, for example, it says this, "Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel." Now, the name Immanuel means God is with us.

So now you know this, I'd like you to pause the video and either talk to a partner, talk to me, or have a think to yourself.

Why might this passage be interpreted as predicting the arrival of Jesus? Off you go.

So this passage makes reference to the virgin, which many Christians believe is referring to the Virgin Mary, who is Jesus' mother.

And the name Immanuel being used reflects that Jesus is God in human form.

So it reflects the Incarnation which took place on Christmas Day, when God entered the world as Jesus.

So now we've looked at a number of ways that Christians might celebrate Advent.

Let's imagine that I've been asked to outline three ways that Christians might celebrate Advent, I've said that, "Christians might make and light Advent wreaths during Advent, or Christians might focus on charity and charitable acts during Advent." Now, what you might notice from my response is that I've only outlined two ways, whereas the question asks me to outline three.

So I'd like you to help me by outlining another way that Christians might celebrate Advent.

So pause the video, and have a go.

So you may have said that, "Another way that Christians can celebrate Advent is that they might attend church services that involve Bible readings about the coming of Jesus, for example, the Book of Isaiah." It's now time for you to have a go to task.

I'd like you to explain two reasons why Advent is important for Christians.

And here's some guidance that you might find helpful when responding to the task.

So you might start by offering a point, giving one reason why Advent is important for Christians, and then develop that point by explaining why that means that Advent is important for Christians.

You can then offer a second point, giving another reason that Advent is important for Christians, and then, again, develop that point by explaining why that means Advent is important for Christians.

So pause the video, and have a go.

Well done for your work during that task.

So you ask to explain two reasons why Advent is important for Christians, and your answer might be similar to this, "One reason Advent is important for Christians is because it's a time of waiting and preparation for the coming of Jesus.

This means that Advent is important because it's a time spent in remembrance of Jesus' birth, which is when God entered the world as a human being, which is known as the Incarnation.

Another reason Advent is important for Christians is because it's a time for spiritual preparation.

This means that Advent is important because Christians are encouraged to strengthen their faith and can do so through acts of charity." So well done again for working on that task.

It's now time to move on to the second part of our lesson, which is to look at Christmas.

Now, Advent is followed by Christmas Day, which is when the birth of Jesus is remembered and celebrated by most Christians.

Most Christians celebrate this on the 25th of December.

Although some Christians, like Eastern Orthodox Christians, actually celebrate Christmas on the 7th of January.

Now, for most Christians, Christmas Day is a time to celebrate God sending his only Son, Jesus, into the world to save humanity from sin.

But it's also a time when many Christians remember and celebrate the Incarnation, which is when God entered the world as a human being in the person of Jesus.

Now, Christians can celebrate Christmas in a number of different ways, and this might include reenacting the story of Jesus' birth through taking part in Nativity plays, or going to watch Nativity plays.

It might also include attending church services, like midnight Mass or the Christingle service, or it can include singing carols that reflect teachings and beliefs about the birth of Jesus, or exchanging gifts, and this is done to recall the Magi giving gifts to the Baby Jesus when he was born.

Now, Niamh is a Roman Catholic Christian, and she celebrates Christmas by attending midnight Mass.

Niamh is going to explain a little bit about midnight Mass to you.

Niamh says, "I attend midnight Mass each Christmas to celebrate the birth of Jesus." At the start of midnight Mass, there's an opening prayer that sets the tone for the Mass, and it focuses on the light of Christ entering the world through his birth.

I don't usually attend other church services throughout the year, so celebrating the birth of Jesus is an important time for me, and I'm able to feel part of my church community through these celebrations." Now, what we can see from Niamh's explanation of how she celebrates Christmas and how she describes her experience of midnight Mass is that Christmas is a time for many Christians to celebrate, and this includes Christians who might not celebrate other events throughout the year or attend church regularly.

Now, for many Christians who celebrate Christmas, Christmas lasts for 12 days and ends with the Feast of the Epiphany.

The Feast of the Epiphany marks the time when the Magi visited the Baby Jesus with gifts.

And we can find out about this in the Gospel of Matthew 2:1-12.

Now, the word epiphany means showing or revealing.

And the Feast of the Epiphany celebrates how Jesus was revealed to the world.

And when the Magi visited the Baby Jesus, it was symbolic that Jesus was for all people.

So let's check your understanding.

True or false, all Christians celebrate the birth of Jesus on the 25th of December by attending midnight Mass.

Fantastic.

That statement is false.

But how do we know that that statement's false? Well, it's because there are many ways that Christians celebrate the birth of Jesus, and this may or may not include attending midnight Mass, but also not all Christians celebrate Christmas on the 25th of December.

So, for example, Eastern Orthodox Christians actually celebrate on the 7th of January.

So well done for identifying that that statement's false and for identifying the reason why.

It's now time for a task.

Alex and Aisha are considering the statement that Christmas is the most important festival for Christians.

They each offer a point of view that supports the statement.

I would like you to complete their paragraphs by filling in the gaps.

So Alex has started by saying that, "Some Christians might argue that Christmas is the most important festival because Christmas Day is when.

This shows that Christmas is the most important festival because.

." Aisha has started by saying, "Furthermore, some Christians may also argue that Christmas is the most important festival because the period of Christmas includes.

According to the Gospel of.

This happened when.

This shows that Christmas is the most important festival because.

." So pause the video and have a go at helping them complete their paragraphs by filling in the gap.

Well done for working on that task.

So Alex and Aisha had been responding to the statement that Christmas is the most important festival for Christians, and you were asked to complete the paragraphs by filling in the missing gaps.

Your completed paragraph for Alex might look something like this, "Some Christians may argue that Christmas Day is the most important festival because Christmas Day is when the birth and Incarnation of Jesus are celebrated.

This shows that Christmas is the most important festival because if it were not for those events that celebrated at Christmas, God would not have entered the world as human and Jesus would not have been able to act as a sacrifice for the sins of humanity." Your completed paragraph for Aisha might look like this, "Furthermore, some Christians may also argue that Christmas is most important festival because the period of Christmas includes the Feast of the Epiphany, which marks Jesus being revealed to the world.

According to the Gospel of Matthew, this happened when the Magi visited the Baby Jesus with gifts.

This shows that Christmas is the most important festival because it's a time to remember that Jesus is for all people.

So well done for helping Alex and Aisha complete their paragraphs.

We've now reached the end of our lesson.

But before we finish, let's take a look at some of the key things that we've learned today.

So we've learned that festival is a day or period of celebration, and that they usually happen for religious reasons.

We've seen that many Christian churches use the liturgical cycle as a way of organising the year into important celebrations and festivals.

We also looked at Advent and how Advent is a four-week period of preparation for the birth of Jesus, and that many Christians will use Advent wreaths, attend church services, and give to charity during Advent.

And we've looked at how Christmas is when many Christians celebrate the birth of Jesus.

And usually, this happens on the 25th of December.

And we've seen that Christmas celebrations might include attending special church services, watching Nativity plays, carol singing, and exchanging gifts.

A huge well done for all of your work this lesson.

It is been wonderful learning with you today.